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The petitioners through Barrister Zafarullah Khan have cited the NAB chairman, the secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcas\u00adting and the chairman of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) as respondents. They alleged that by issuing the orders for the arrest of Mr Rehman the NAB chairman had abused the statutory powers of arrest by NAB under the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, and that the arrest was in violation of constitutional guarantees of fundamental rights and the law laid down by superior courts.<\/p>\n
The petitioners have referred to the IHC\u2019s order of March 8, 2020 in which the court had set parameters and guidelines for NAB regarding arrest of an accused.<\/p>\n
The petition claimed that before arrest of the Jang group\u2019s chief, the government had warned the Geo TV\u2019s management over its criticism and urged it to hold friendly programmes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no legal basis for issuing the arrest warrant as the accused [Mir Shakilur Rehman] is not a fugitive nor a terrorist nor a wanted criminal,\u201d says the petition, adding: \u201cHe is the head of the biggest and the well-reputed media house in Pakistan who was fully cooperating with the NAB and furthermore, it was mere a second call-up notice for complaint verification as the proceedings had not been converted into inquiry or investigation stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The petition said it appeared that the arrest of Mr Rehman was an attempt to curb free media in the country and that it was seen in the light of show-cause notices issued to some channels by Pemra on behalf of NAB.<\/p>\n
An IHC division bench headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah will take up a similar petition on Tuesday against the alleged closure of Geo TV on the cable and the relegation of the channel to lower numbers.<\/p>\n
The petition was filed by Barrister Jahangir Khan Jadoon on behalf of Ahsan Satti.<\/p>\n
The petition has cited the cabinet secretary, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, NAB chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal and Pemra chairman Saleem Baig as respondents.<\/p>\n
The petition has argued that the court should declare the act of controlling media \u2018illegal\u2019 and that Geo TV should be returned to its place on the cable where it was before the arrest of Mr Rehman.<\/p>\n
Some questions<\/strong><\/p>\n Shaheena Shakil, wife of Mr Rehman, filed the petition through Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and personally attended the proceedings before a two-judge bench comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh. Mir Ibrahim and two other sons of the media mogul also joined their mother in the court.<\/p>\n Responding to the bench\u2019s queries, Barrister Ahsan said that NAB had not supplied any formal questionnaire to the petitioner\u2019s husband; however, he was asked a few questions by the investigators on his first appearance before a combined investigation team.<\/p>\n Mr Rehman appeared before the team on March 12 fully prepared to answer the questions, but he was arrested, though the complaint against him was still at the stage of verification.<\/p>\n The counsel argued that the NAB chairman issued the arrest warrants for Mr Rehman while sitting in Islamabad and without knowing the facts. He said the petitioner\u2019s husband was in illegal detention of NAB.<\/p>\n Justice Najafi asked Mr Ahsan if a petition against alleged illegal detention was maintainable after the grant of physical remand by a court of law.<\/p>\n The counsel said the accountability court granted the physical remand unlawfully and without mentioning any reason in its order.<\/p>\n \u201cIs this the same inquiry wherein former premier Nawaz Sharif has also been summoned?\u201d the judge asked the counsel who responded in the affirmative.<\/p>\n Referring to the issuance of arrest warrants on the same day of call-up notice, Justice Najafi observed that the authority concerned should have applied mind reasonably.<\/p>\n In a dialogue with NAB prosecutor Faisal Raza Bokhari, Justice Najafi observed that accountability should be without any discrimination but within the limits of the law.<\/p>\n Mr Bokhari said all the suspects in custody were medically examined on a daily basis as the bureau had its own doctors available round the clock. He said there was no need of any independent medical board. He said a daily meeting of a suspect with his family members and lawyers was not possible.<\/p>\n The bench sought a reply and para-wise comments from NAB by March 26.<\/p>\n Earlier, Shaheena Shakil requested the court to issue release order of her husband, saying he would not go anywhere.<\/p>\n However, Justice Najafi remarked that all were equal before the court either a former prime minister or a media house\u2019s owner.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) vice chairman Abid Saqi on Monday condemned the arrest of the Jang group\u2019s owner.<\/p>\n In a statement, Mr Saqi described the arrest as against all legal and ethical norms. He accused NAB of resorting to pressure tactics by falsely implicating mostly those, in the political and media arena, who criticised the government\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n